Archie and Zelena were meeting. Alice was at home with Robin.
"How did you grt her to drink?" Zelena asked.
"Drank some of it too. Promised I'd not opened the bottle before then."
"What?"
"She said, or really implied that her motjer put potipns in her rink and then got mad kf she mad e a mess when she got sick from it."
Zelena didn't exactly restrain herself from calling Alice's mother a series of vulgaraities that time.
"Yeah. So, maybe she'll drink fro you if you just use water bottles and show her that you're willing to drink from them."
Zelena sighed and rubbed her temples. "I swear every time we solve one issue another one shows up or we create another."
"Maybe we should all meet and talk about what we know about what her childhood was like. You, me, robin, amd the nurse that seemed to avtually manage to get along ekth her."
"She actually talks to red, maybe ww should invite her too? I can get henry to stay with her. She likes him for the most part." For the most part. Alice really was scared of just ablut everyone. It wasn't her fault, Zelene knew. She wasn't trying to be difficult. But she had been shown that she couldn't trust people not to hurt her. So she did what she could to avoid it. The fact that what she did to avoid being hurt wasn't neccesarily the best way to behave wasn't her doing.
They finalized the details and Zelena headed back to the house. They'd meet in about a week omce they figured out a good time for everyone to meet.
Zelena was offering Alice water. She was follwing Archie's suggestions. But Alice srill seemed hestitant. But not really any mlre hesitant than she normally was.
Alice stared at Zelena. She didn't like drinking. But she could handle it. It was okay. The way Zelena was offering the water to her was the only way she trusted it was safe. She'd drank some since living with zelena. And it hadn't bothered her much at first. She didn't know why it had started to be a problem again. But she understood fear. And she understood that usually of she was afraid of something it was because somehow it had caused her pain before.
Zwlena poured a little wqter into a cup and drank sone out lf the bottle. Alice took it, a bit shakily. Holding the cup seemed to be a bit difficult but she managed.
"Good job. That's glld. Do you want anymlre or not?" Alice ignlred the quesrion for a second. Still half expecting to suddenly not feel well. When she didn't she shook her head.
Zelena would take what she could get. Alice would only drink so much at a time for then. But that was less of a problem than her completly refusing to drink. It was still a problem. The iv had to stay in until she could drink on her own. Well, mostly. No one expected Alice to do anything without some encouragement. She needed that for now.
The next few days repeated a fairly nromal routine. Now Zelena had started to include offering Alice water. And she was willing to drink it only if Zelena drabk some too. And if she saw her open the bottle. Othereise it was immeidstly discarded ot igbored. Whivh had been interesting to find out.
Alice had been sitting and drawing in thr living room. Which was a change. Zelena had brought a small cup of water to her. Not really thinking much of it. She was still going to drink some if Alice wanted that. Alice had glanced at the cup and then at Zelena.
[I don't want that.]
Alice hadn't gotten in trouble foe throwing the cuos away from her at archie's. So she was pretty sure she was allowed to throw this cup. She picked it up.
"Goo_" Zelena was cut off by Alice throwing the cup at thr wall. Really?
"Alice, I know you don't like it. But you were doing so gold with it what happened?"
Alice ignored Zelena for a second, tugging on the tassles on bear. She thought this was okay. It wasn't as bad as other things she'd done around Zelena, at the very least. But an apology was always something she'd offer. Even when she didn't know what she'd done wrong. It seemed to help.
"Sorry."
Zelena knew Alice would say that no matter what.
"I know. It's okay. But why did you throw thr cup?" Zelena wasn't sure that was a good question. Alice may bot have even understood why she did what she did. It could have easily felt like she was telling her she'd done something wrong. And that was reserved solely for things that did need to be stopped immediatly.
Alice sat with her thoughts for a moment. She'd thrown it so she wouldn't have to drink it. But would Zelena make her do it anyway if she explained? Alice tried anyway.
"Don'tdrinksorry."
"You threw it so you wouldn't have to drink?" Zelena questioned. Alice used the word don't the most. She seened to ubderstand that one the best when she tried to talk. Zelena knew that Alice had probably been told not to do things so much she thought that word was useful in every context.
Alice nodded. "Sorry."
"It's okay. I know you're scared. But I'm not going to hurt you. I won't do that."
Alice nodded. She still didn't trust it.
"You don't have to drink right now."
Alice didn't dislike the water itself anymore. As long as she knew it was safe. It didn't taste bad. And her iv seemed to take less time whenever she did manage to drink water. Maybe thos things were unrelsted but she'd connected them in her mimd and wanted to drink so the iv wouldn't have anything going into thr needle at times. She really wanted the iv gone but doubted that was soon.
The iv was actually pumping less water the more she drank. Some kijd of enchantment that ensjred she didn't get either dehydrated or have too much liquod in jer system..the latter was mlst deintley not going to happen anytime soon.
Alice shook jer head. She did want water. "Want."
"You want some water or you don't want it?" Alice nodded.
"Ok." Zelena went i to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle and a new cup. The bottle had alrwady been opened, there was no point in opening a new one.
She poured thw ater into thr cup.
"Is this better?" Zelena was pretty sure that it was fine. Alice saw her pouring rhe water in. That was most likely the peiblem.
Alice nodded. It wasn't what she wanted but it was better. She stared at the water bottle that had clearly been opened before. How easy would it have been to put something in it when Alice hadn't been looking? Alice took the cup and stared at it.
"Ylu can drink it if you want, you don't habe to."
Alice didn't want this water either. She tjrew it away from her and apologized. She didn't know how to explain what was wrong with it. And she was afraid she'd give Zelena ideas of how to punish her.
She pulled her knees up to her chest and pressed her face into them. She mumbled something akin to an apology.
"It's okay. I'm going to go pick up thst cup and out this away. It's fine if you don't wwnt the ewter, that's okay. Let me pick that up and then we can figure out what you want..ok?"
Alice half nodded. She did want it! But not the way zelena was giving it to her. She didn't like how much she felt that things had ro be done a certain way.
"Iwant."
Zelena looked at her. "Ok. I know you want something. I don't know what."
"Water."
"Ok?" Zelena offered Alice the water bottle. Which alice threw away from her. Zelena held in a sigh. Alice was trying to get something from her. Which was great. But even when Alice wanted things and was willing to say she wanted them she still had to deal with the limits Alice had been given over time. And even thoigh she'd made a lot of progress she still had the instict to resort to throeing things around to explain her issue..if she didn't like something she would throw it away from her. If she was agaraid she'd throw anything nesr her. If she was upset she'd clutch her tiy as tight as possoble until she saw it fit to throw it.
"Sorry." And she did apologize for her tendency to become somewhat violent. And she didn't hurt anyone. But it was still worrying.
Zelena decided to grab another water bottle, not that she had any chpice and brought it in along with a new cup.
"Ok, let's try this again," Zelena opened the bottle and the seal made a aloght sound when it broke.
"Good." Alice whispered under her breath. She liked that sound. "Sorry."
"You're okay. You can talk." Alice nodded but stayed silent. Zelena poured a little of thevwatwr into a cup and drank some from the bottle. She handed it to Alice. Really hoping she wouodn't throw it. Alice said thank-you and drank it.
"Tgat's really good. Do you wany more or not any more?"
Alice shook her head and went back to drawing.
Zelena spent most of the days leading up to their planned meeting going over with all of Alice's habits she could think might come up with henry. And that endeavor doubled as a lost to take to the meeting with archie to try to work out a more concrete plan to see what really needed to be worked on the most.